greatly injured, by the British. He supplied the pulpit of the First Presbyterian church of Newburyport, Mass. for a season; also of the Congregational church of New Fairfield, Ct., in 1782, and, probably, was frequently called upon to preach among the Ct. churches, during the period of his exile.*

His last days were passed in peace, in the midst of his family and friends at Jamaica. In the grave-yard of the First Presbyterian church there, a memorial tablet makes the following record:

Sacred to the memory of the Rev. Abraham Kettletas, Obt. 30th Sept. 1798, A. E. 65 years, 9 mos. and 4 days. He possessed unusual talents, that were improved by profound erudition, and a heart firmly attached to the interests of his country. His mind was early impressed with a sense of religion, which fully manifested itself in the choice of the sacred office, in which he shone as the able and faithful divine. It may not perhaps be unworthy of record in this inscription, that he frequently officiated in three different languages, having preached in the Dutch and French Churches in his native city of New York.

Rest from thy labors now thy work is o'er:

Since Death is vanquished, now free grace adore;

A crown of glory sure awaits the just,

Who served their God, and in their Saviour trust.

His children were Jane (1st), Mary, Jane (2d), Sarah, Abraham, William, John, Elizabeth Scott, Ann, Philip Doddridge, and Clarissa. Sarah married John Fish, of Newtown, L. I., who was, subsequently, a merchant of New York, whence he removed to Tarrytown, N. Y., where he died in 1807. Ann married, in 1799, Thomas Hackett, who had come, in 1794, from Holland. She was the mother of James Henry Hackett, the actor, who was born, March 15, 1800. William died suddenly, Nov. 19, 1812. Clarissa was never married. She died, greatly lamented, July 21, 1810. Jane, the first born, died in infancy. On the occasion of her death, the father composed fifteen stanzas of elegiac poetry, which are still extant.+

* Prime's L. Isld., pp. 318, 9. Onderdonk's Queens Co., pp. 33, 40. McDonald's Jamaica, pp. 191, 2, 8. Contrib. to the Ecc. His. of Ct., pp. 484, 521.

+ Alden's Epitaphs, IV. 180-5. Thompson's Long Island, II. 111-3. Riker's Newtown, p. 368.

CHAPTER XIX.

Retrenchments at Funerals. - Death of Alderman Thos. Clark - Non-Importation Leagues-Patriotism of the Town-Stamp Act-Gen. Congress - Robert Ogden, Speaker of N. J. Congress, resigns his seat-Stephen Crane succeeds him - Opposition to Stamp Act-Its Repeal - Non-Importation Leagues revived-County Meeting at E. T.-Patriotic Action-British Regulars quartered here"Boston Tea Party"- Boston Port Bill-Great Indignation everywhere-Principal Patriots of the Town-Lines drawn - County Meeting at Newark-Town Meeting - Congress sustained--Committee of Safety Non-Intercourse with Staten Island -- Exciting Affair - Case of the Beulah-Sheriff Barnet implicated-Battle of Lexington-Uprising of the People Aaron Burr and Matt. Ogden - General Congress - Gen. Washington, Com. in Chief- Battle of Bunker-Hill --Powder sent from E. T. to the Am. Army- Mrs. Washington at E. T.- Earl of Stirling in command here Capture of the ship Blue Mountain Valley - Names of the Captors - Military Officers Military Preparations-Fortifications at the Point -- Washington and the Am. Army at N. Y.-Appearance of the Town in 1776.

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THE opening of the second century of the town's history found the people in a state of great agitation and apprehension. The following incidents will serve to introduce the whole subject. They are taken from the current news of the day :

December 24, 1764: We hear from Elizabeth-Town, that upon the 29th of last Month, near fifty Heads of the principal families, in and about that Place, entered into an Engagement to retrench the present usual and unnecessary Expenses of Funerals and Mourning, as the giving of Scarfs, Gloves, and Liquor at Funerals, and wearing black Apparel as Mourning, nothing but a black Crape round the Arm being allowed for the Future.

Elizabeth-Town, September 14, 1765. On Wednesday evening last, [11th], died here after a severe illness, TпOMAS CLARK, Esq., one of the judges of the county court; who has been unanimously elected a magistrate in this Corporation, ever since we had a Charter; and Friday

was decently buried, in the plain manner, by his own directions, according to the new mode-none of his relations or friends appearing in mourning, though he was universally lamented by all who knew him, as he left the character of an honest man. We flatter ourselves that this laudable example, so very seasonably set by people of fortune, will be imitated by all; especially by those in slender circumstances, (no liquor was given at the funeral).*

Mr. Clark was one of the first Aldermen of the Borough, father of the Signer, Abraham Clark, and a man of great personal worth. He was, also, an eminent patriot, and had entered heartily into the agreement of the previous November. It was customary, in those days, at the funeral of respectable persons, to distribute gloves, scarfs and badges of crape, by the dozens, with liquors in great abundance for all comers. Mourning-rings were, also, given, in the case of wealthy persons. The expense was often so considerable, as to impose great burdens on the surviving members of the family. It was not everybody that could afford to die and be buried according to the prevailing custom.t

The principle of taxation without representation, so persistently maintained at this period by the British ministry, and so resolutely opposed by the colonies, nowhere met with more determined opposition than in the English towns of East Jersey. Descended from an ancestry of Puritan origin and principles, they had cherished those principles, from generation to generation, with jealous care, and kept themselves in full sympathy with their New England brethren. The love of civil and religious liberty, and the hatred of despotism, they had inherited as almost their only birthright. Their fathers had fled from bitter persecution at home, and the story of their wrongs had sunk deep into the hearts of the children of the exiles. These wrongs were associated with the British monarchy; and the only knowledge which

*N. Y. Mercury, No. 687. Barber's His. Coll. of N. J., p. 48. Holt's N. Y. Journal. No. 1185.

t Whitehead's Amboy, pp. 89, 145. Watson's Annals of N. Y., pp. 308, 9. Ind. Reflector, No. 29. The Old Merchants of N. Y. City, III. 263-4. At the funeral of Philip Livingston, Esq., of New York, £500 were expended for the occasion of his burial. His son, Gov. Wm. Livingston, (afterwards, and for many years, a resident of this town), made an appeal to the public, as early as June, 1753, in favor of putting an end to this kind of extravagance.

the second and third generations of these colonists had, of that monarchy, was of injury and wrong. They were far removed from the pomp and circumstance of courts, surrounded everywhere by staunch republicans, and accustomed always to institutions, in church and state, thoroughly democratic. The ties that bound them to the throne were of the slenderest kind, and were constantly losing strength. These constituted the great majority of the people of these towns.

But, in addition to all this, a fundamental principle of the Constitution, under which they and their fathers had been born and nurtured, was perfectly identical with that which the British government were now seeking to overthrow. It was provided, by the "Concessions" of Berkeley and Carteret, in respect to the Governor and Couneil, that

They are not to impose, nor suffer to be imposed, any tax, custom, subsidy, tallage, assessment, or any other duty whatsoever, upon any colour or pretence, upon the said province and inhabitants thereof, other than what shall be imposed by the Authority and consent of the General Assembly, and then only in manner as aforesaid.*

In all periods of their history, under the Proprietary Government, and under the Crown, the people of New Jersey, both East and West, had resolutely and consistently guarded this natural and covenanted right, and refused all inducements to part with this corner-stone of their free institutions.

Still further the people of this town, as has been shown in this history, had, as early as 1670, or almost from the very first settlement of the place, been brought into conflict with the Proprietary government, in respect to the validity of the titles to their homesteads and plantations. In this conflict, continued now for more than fourscore years, they had. been thrown very much upon their own resources; had been compelled to make common cause, one with another, as Associates, and in their municipal capacity, in defence of their vested and inalienable rights; had been educated and thoroughly disciplined, to resist everything like oppression, and to maintain their right to all the blessings of civil and religious liberty. That portion, therefore, of the people of the

*Smith's N.J., p. 517. Leaming and Spicer, p. 20.

town, who held their lands by the Indian purchase, and were leagued together to defend themselves against the plaintiffs in the now celebrated "Bill in Chancery," could be safely relied upon to embark, heart and soul, in the wider conflict that was now opening, for the defence of American liberties. For the same reason, it might be anticipated, that not a few of those, to whom, in these land-conflicts, they had been opposed, would be disposed to take sides with the monarchical party, and cast in their lot with the defenders of the royal prerogative. It was scarcely possible, after the experience of the previous twenty years, for the two parties in the town. to act together on the broader field of American politics. Unanimity in regard to the question of resistance to the arbitrary measures of Parliament was not to be expected, and was not attained. It was not every one, morcover, however patriotic, that had the moral courage requisite, or the strength of nerve demanded, for times so fitted to try men's souls.

The Stamp Act was passed, March 22, 1765. Tidings of its passage reached America in May following. The General Court of Massachusetts was in session, and, early in June, it was resolved by the Representatives of that Colony, to recommend to each of the other Representative Bodies "of the several British Colonies on this continent" to appoint. Delegates to a General Congress to meet at New York "on the first Tuesday in October next," then and there "to consult together on the present circumstances of the Colonies."*

The Massachusetts Circular was laid before the New Jersey Legislature, June 20, 1765, "the last day of the session," at Burlington, "some members gone, others uneasy to be at their homes," and on a hurried conference between the members, it was, on the whole, deemed best to take no action in the premises. The responsibility of this proceeding was, (whether justly or not, it is not easy to determine), thrown upon the Speaker, Robert Ogden, of this town. He had been elected to the Legislature in 1751, and rechosen at each succeeding election. In 1763, he was chosen Speaker of the House. He was the son of Robert Ogden, who was the

Pitkin's U. States, I. 442.